Working Through the Night
by KnoxEmerald
Summary: Jeff recounts his adventures with his friends as he works on a broken machine. He even evaluates his own self worth


Working through the night, Jeff makes progress on a few problems. Some mechanical. Some more than that.

The room of the hotel was silent, save for a few squeaks caused by a screw making its way into the grooves of a final design. Only one of the four heroes remained awake at such a late hour. Little Jeff, the intellectual pragmatic, busied himself with repairing a broken machine that was acquired during a battle that had taken place earlier that day.

Though it was a good way for him to clear his thoughts, he couldn't quite shake away his worries that plagued his mind. The current worry: self worth. Despite all they had been through, Jeff felt that the contributions he made in battle were inadequate when compared to the others.

In truth, he did help with the defeat of some of the third strongest moles he had ever seen. He even helped with slaying a Kraken of the Sea. However, there was some speculation that a pair of slippers may have been the final blow in that battle. Jeff still felt a pang of doubt in his chest. He knew what the bottom line of this gut feeling was. He couldn't shake the undeniable fact that he could not perform any type of psychic powers. He laughed to himself as he began rewiring the lifeless machine before him. He had all of this knowledge and yet possessed not a speck of psychic powers. It was another ironic event in his ironic journey.

Jeff began to clean the dust off some of the inner workings of the machine. One of four indicator lights flickered to life as Jeff spruced up the hardware. He listened to Paula stir in her sleep, letting his thoughts drift around her. Paula was where it all began for him. One minute he was stirring in his own slumber, the next moment, he was making an escape from the Snow Wood boarding house under the influence of a voice in need of help. He would come to find out the voice belonged to Paula, the sweet little girl that could set a hoard of enemies ablaze in an instant if she so willed it. It was such a unlikely ability for someone so mild-mannered.

What stood out the most about young Paula was the faith she carried. Jeff would always catch her praying in the midst of battle. He couldn't put his finger on the reason, but Jeff felt that her faith would be a key factor in the battle against Giygas.

A light spark broke Jeff's thoughts. He grunted to himself, taking a cloth to the more delicate hardware. Machines were a passion for Jeff. He worked with mechanics the way Poo might undergo his training. Poo was the one Jeff felt most connected to – at least in a way of understanding. They both had a way of training. Jeff honed his knowledge with as much discipline as Poo would with his body and mind. Jeff found it odd when Poo would always look at his machines with such wonder and awe. Why would that impress him? His contraptions were nothing compared to the power Poo could unleash. It was enough to rival even Ness!

Seeing such displays of power always served to make Jeff feel inadequate. His thoughts once again fell back to his own usefulness. Poo had once told him to keep training his mind. He believed that Jeff had not reached his mind's full potential for creation. Watching a second light begin to hum with a current, he decided to take those words to heart.

The soft growl of Ness' stomach began to intrude upon Jeff's thoughts. Jeff couldn't help but chuckle. They had a steak dinner just a few hours before and now it seemed he was ready for more. Perhaps the most odd occurrence in this adventure was that it all began with Ness. None of them would be here now if not for him. If given the choice, would Jeff do this all again? Jeff shook his head as he polished the outer parts of the machine. Of course he would. Despite how odd things get with his unlikely comrades, Jeff could never remember having so much fun. Jeff felt his spirits lift as a third light began to pulsate unnoticed.

Maybe powers are not everything in this adventure. Perhaps Jeff helps in his own way. Jeff decided he would gladly fight along side his friends if they would have him. The fourth and final light appeared before Jeff as the machine began to hum.

Working through the night, Jeff fixes some problems. Some mechanical. Some more than that.

* * *

Just a small story I thought about writing. Earthbound is probably one of the best games I've played in my lifetime. Hope the inside jokes from the game weren't too out there with this one. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
